Guardian Over-dramatizes Israeli Missile Launch

The Guardian reports: Israel fired a missile on Tuesday to test a new defence system, triggering alerts across a region that…

By September 03, 2013

The Guardian reports:

Israel fired a missile on Tuesday to test a new defence system, triggering alerts across a region that is braced for impending international military strikes against Syria.

The phrase “alerts across region” also appears beneath the headline of the article.

So just what does “across the region” refer to?

The Guardian continues:

Russia sounded the alert, saying its radars at Armavir, near the Black Sea, had detected the launch of two ballistic “objects” in the area, fired from the central Mediterranean towards the east.

A Syrian source told Lebanese television that nothing had been detected by its early warning system.

So, Russia detected the missile launch and Syria didn’t. No mention of Lebanese, Egyptian, Turkish, Iraqi or Saudi alerts anywhere in the article.

Is this what The Guardian considers alerts across the region?

Or does this over-dramatic throwaway reference simply feed the average Guardian reader’s belief that Israel is the biggest threat to the Middle East?

[sc:bottomsignup ]

© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025

Simon Plosker

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020.

Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias.

Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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